Direct contact condensers are known and include a plurality of showers through which steam is sequentially passed. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,392. It is known to measure the temperature of a gas stream at a location downstream from a shower and control inlet of water to the shower as a function of such temperature. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 1,880,018. Neither of the direct condensers taught by said patents are adaptable for use in operation with geothermal steam fields since they liberate pollutants to the air.
In a geothermal steam field, steam is supplied from beneath the surface of the earth. Such steam does not have the same purity as steam produced by a boiler. Instead, such steam is heavily laden with non-condensible gases such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc. Aside from the notorious rotten egg smell, such gases could contaminate the surrounding area and the collected condensate.
The present invention is directed to a solution of the problem of how to minimize absorption of gases, especially hydrogen sulfide in the condensate while maximizing recovery of gases which have a polluting effect.